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Roots -

Diego Armando Maradona was born on October 30, 1960, in Lanús, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

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Debut -

Maradona made his professional debut on October 20, 1976, for Argentinos Juniors. He was 15 at the time.

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International debut -

And one year later, in 1977, a 16-year-old Maradona made his international debut against Hungary.

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Youth World Champion -

In 1979, he won the Youth World Cup in Japan with Argentina.

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International career -

In total, Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina.

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Move to Spain -

In 1982, Maradona was transferred from Boca Juniors to FC Barcelona. He went down in history for being applauded by Real Madrid fans when he scored a magnificent goal against them!

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Fight -

At the end of his career in Barcelona, Maradona was involved in a huge fight at the 1984 Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao. Around 60 people were injured in the mass brawl, including players, coaches, and photographers.

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Move to Italy -

In 1984, Maradona became a Napoli player. With his help, the club won their first ever Serie A Italian Championship in 1986–87, among many other achievements.

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He was a target -

Maradona holds the record for most fouls suffered in a World Cup (53 during Mexico 86) and most fouls in a single World Cup game (23 against Italy during Spain 82).

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He struggled with addiction -

Maradona is known to have battled drug (most notably cocaine) and alcohol addiction. He was even arrested a few times. In his own words, "I was, I am and I always will be a drug addict. A person who gets involved in drugs has to fight it every day."

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Impact of drug use -

The Argentinian ace received massive fines from Napoli for missing games and practices, and in the 1994 World Cup he was sent home after testing positive for ephedrine doping.

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Rehab -

The soccer star flew to Havana, Cuba and checked into rehab in 2000, and then again in 2004.

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He struggled with obesity -

At one point, the former soccer star weighed 280 lbs (130 kg). He eventually underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2005.

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Guinness World Record -

Maradona holds a world record for the "Most football (soccer) FIFA World Cup appearances as captain." He did so 16 times in World Cup finals.

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Another record -

He was the first player in soccer history to set the world record transfer fee twice. First when he was transferred to Barcelona for US$7.6 million, and then when he transferred to Napoli for $10.48 million (pictured).

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"Hand of God" -

Maradona scored against England in the quarter final of the 1986 World Cup using his hand. England lost and Argentina went on to win the World Cup against West Germany.

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"Hand of God" -

When asked about the controversial goal, Maradona said: “The goal was scored a little bit by the hand of God, a little by the head of Maradona.”

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Temperamental -

Maradona once smashed a photographer’s car window. He said about the incident: “I did it with the hand of reason.”

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Church of Maradona -

Founded in 1998 in Rosario, Argentina, the Iglesia Maradoniana is a religion created by fans of Maradona, who believe he’s the best player of all time.

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Church of Maradona -

Members mark the year by Maradona’s birthday. For example, October 30, 2020 is 60 D.D, D.D meaning "después de Diego"–which means "after Diego" in English.

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Tattoos -

Maradona was known to sympathize with left-wing ideologies and was a friend of the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro. He even had a tattoo of his face on his leg.

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Tattoos -

He also had a tattoo of the argentinian revolutionary icon Che Guevara, this one on his arm.

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Maradona and Pelé rivalry -

The soccer rivalry between the two players (and their two countries) goes back a long way. In spite of this, Maradona invited Pelé to be the first guest on his TV talk show ‘La Noche del 10.’

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Manager -

His country was excited to have Diego Maradona as the national team’s manager in 2008. But he left the role after Argentina reached the quarter finals of the 2010 World Cup.

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Messi on Maradona -

”Even if I played for a million years, I’d never come close to Maradona. Not that I’d want to anyway. He’s the greatest there’s ever been,” said the Barcelona star about Maradona.

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Highly respected by his peers -

"What Zidane could do with a ball, Maradona could do with an orange," said former player and ex-president of UEFA Michel Platini.

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He still lived and breathed soccer as he did in his prime -

Here he is, celebrating an Argentina goal during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

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He was still coaching -

Until shortly before his death, Maradona continued to coach. In Argentina, his opponents provided him with thrones like this one and other gifts when his team was visiting. They may have been rivals, but he was still Diego Maradona, after all.

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See also - Soccer's most controversial and egotistical stars

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